A fishing lure is a type of artificial fishing bait that is designed to attract a fish. Fishing lures use color, vibration and movement to entice fish. Soft plastic fishing lures refer to plastic-based baits termed so because of their soft, flexible rubber texture. Such lures are typically manufactured by injecting a plastic composed of polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into a mold consisting of two metal blocks, each block including depressions for receiving the plastic. The blocks are fitted together with the depressions overlapping one another to form a void having a desired shape. Molten plastic is then injected into the mold void. Once the plastic cools, the blocks are separated revealing a plastic fishing lures exhibiting the desired shape of the void.
Soft plastic fishing lures are designed to imitate the appearance and movement fish or other food sources when retrieved through water. One class of food sources soft plastic baits attempt to mimic is anguilliform aquatic animals, which exhibit undulatory locomotion. This type of motion is characterized by wave-like movement patterns that act to propel an animal forward through water. Although this is typically the type of gait utilized by limbless animals, some creatures with limbs, such as salamanders, choose to forgo use of their legs in certain environments and exhibit undulatory locomotion. In the anguilliform group, there is little increase in the amplitude of the flexion wave as it passes along the body.
Another class of food sources soft plastic baits attempt to mimic is sub-carangiform aquatic animals. This group has a more marked increase in wave amplitude along the body with the vast majority of the work being done by the rear half of the fish. In general, the fish body is stiffer, making for higher speed but reduced maneuverability. Trout, minnows, carps, cods and salmon use sub-carangiform locomotion.
Another class of food sources soft plastic baits attempt to mimic is carangiform aquatic animals. The carangiform group is stiffer and faster-moving than the previous groups. The vast majority of movement is concentrated in the very rear of the body and tail. Carangiform swimmers generally have rapidly oscillating tails. Mackerels, herrings and jacks use carangiform locomotion.
Yet another class of food sources soft plastic baits attempt to mimic is thunniform aquatic animals. The thunniform group contains high-speed long-distance swimmers, and is a unique trait of the tunas. Here, virtually all the sideways movement is in the tail and the region connecting the main body to the tail (the peduncle). Thunniform locomotion is found in some mammals.
Although soft plastic fishing lures are available that attempt to mimic the various types of locomotion movement patterns described, in order for these baits to exhibit such movement patterns, the lures must be retrieved through water at a relatively fast speed. Often, the fast speeds do not correspond to the actual speeds presented by the natural foods sources the lures are attempting to mimic. For this reason, there are needed soft plastic fishing lures that exhibit the natural locomotion movement patterns of fish food sources when retrieved through water at speeds that mimic the speed of the food sources being mimicked.